Cullen's Read Twilight
by MrsRobVanDam
Summary: Alice comes across the four twilight books and the family decide to read them together. Rated T. Please R&R Thanks
1. Preface

**a/n Hi, i wanted to give this one a shot, please tell me if you like it. : )**

**disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, SM does.**

Preface

It was a normal rainy day in Forks, Washington. Carlisle was in his study doing some hospital work, Ezme was cleaning up the house, Rosalie was looking at a car magazine, Emmett and Jasper were playing Halo Three on the x-box, Edward was sitting at his piano staring into space and Alice was in her room, sorting through her clothes. When she turned to her bed, she saw four books lying their, labeled, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. She turned the first book over and read the back.

_"When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irrestistable and impenetrable, up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret._

_"What Bella doesn't realize is that the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And it might be too late to turn back..."_

Alice was completely shocked. She ran back down the stairs with the book held tightly in her little hand.

"Hey guys. Why don't we have a family reading day in the living-room," she said.

Everyone gathered in the living-room. Carlisle and Ezme on one sofa, Rosalie and Emmett on the other, Jasper and Alice on the floor and Edward on the remaining sofa.

"So, what are we reading Alice?" Carlisle asked.

"It's a cool book called Twilight. I'll start ot," Alice simply replaid.

**"Preface" **Alice read

**"I'd never given much thought to how I would die -"**

"That's a weird way to start a book," Emmett said.

"It's not exactly the beginning idiot. Don't you know what Preface means?" Alice said.

-SMACK- "OW! Rosie, what was that for?" Emmett asked.

"For being and idiot. Continue Alice," Rosalie said with a smirk.

Everyone laughed and Emmett pouted.

**"though I'd had reason enough in the last few months - but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this."**

"Who would want to imagine death?" Ezme asked worridly.

"I don't know Ezme," Carlisle answered.

**"I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter,"**

"What hunter?" Emmett asked.

-SMACK-

"Let me read it, to find out," Alice said.

**"and he looked pleasantly back at me.**

**Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something."**

"She's doing it for someone she loves. That is very noble," Carlisle said.

"This isn't a love story, is it?" Emmett whined.

"Shit up!" everyone shouted.

**"I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks,"**

"Hey, that's where we are," Emmett said, with a grin on his face.

-SMACK-

"Captain obvious," Rosalie mocked while Emmett rubbed his had with a mock hurt expression.

**"I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end."**

"She's very insightful," Carlisle commented.

"Yes, I have to agree," replaid Edward.

**"The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me."**

"That's the end of the Preface," Alice said.

"You don't think this book is about vampires do you?" Edward asked.

"Maybe," Alice said with a smile.

"Who's reading next?" Jasper asked.

"I will," answered Carlisle.

**a/n I hope you enjoyed that. Please R&R Thanks.**


	2. First Sight

**a/n Here is the next chapter. Enjoy : )**

**disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, SM does.**

Chaper 1: First Sight

**"First Sight" **Carlisle read.

"I wonder what that means," Emmett wondered.

-SMACK- "OW! Rosie, I didn't do anything. I was just wondering," Emmett whined.

"Well let Carlisle read then," Rosalie said angrily.

"That's enough you two. Continue honey," Ezme said.

**"My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was weaing my favorite shirt - sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.**

"Ew, how can anyone wear that. It's criminal," Alice said.

"Better call the fashion police then," Emmett said while laughing.

Rosalie was about to hit him again when he moved.

"Ha, ha, missed me," he said and stuck out his tonge.

"Next time, you won't be so lucky," Rosalie said with a smirk.

**"In the Olympic Peninsula or Northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds."**

"That's why we live here," Emmett said.

-SMACK- "Told ya I would get ya. Now, shut up!" Rosalie spat.

**"It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and it gloomy, omiprestent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old."**

"Why would she do that?" Ezme asked.

"Let's find out," Alice said very cheerfully.

**"It was in this town that I'd compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past summer's, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead."**

"Does she mean Police Cheif Swan. He's the only Charlie I know," Carlisle said.#

"It's him alright," Alice simply said.

"I didn't know the chief had a daughter," Carlisle said to himself.

**"It was to Forks that I now exiled myself - an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks."**

"Why move here then," Edward said, confused.

"You'll see," Alice said.

**"I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.**

**"Bella," my mum said to me - thw last of a thousand times - before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."**

**My mum looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself?"**

"Easy, stay with her," Emmett said, thinking he was smart.

"Emmett, you're dumb sometimes, do you know that?" Jasper said with a smirk.

Emmett just stuck his tonge out in reply.

**"Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still...**

**"I **_**want **_**to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now."**

"Why would she lie to her own mother?" Ezme asked in a motherly tone.

"Maybe she wants to spend some quality time with her dad," Jasper replaid.

**"Tell Charlie I said hi."**

**"I will."**

**"I'll see you soon, she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want - I'll come right back as soon as you need me."**

**But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.**

"I wonder why that is," Edward wondered.

**"Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, mom."**

**She hugged me tightly for a minute and then I got on the plane and she was gone.**

**It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle and another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about."**

"Why?" Ezme asked.

"I don't know. Maybe she doesn't get along with her dad," Carlisle answered.

**"Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence."**

"Of course he's pleased, he loves you," Ezme said lovingly.

**"He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car."**

"Aww, that's nice of him," Ezme said.

"Yes, very nice," Edward agreed.

**"But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I know he was more than a little confused by my dercision - like my mother before me, I hadn't made it a secret of my distaste for Forks."**

"What's the point in coming here then?" Edward asked.

"You will find out soon enough. You all will," Alice answered evilly, with an evil laugh.

**"When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen - just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun.**

**Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was ecpecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop"**

"I hear ya sister," Emmett said while clicking his fingers in the air.

Everyone stared wide eyed and open mouthed at him.

**"Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed huge when I stumbled my way off the plane."**

"I can guess she's clumsy. I'll be seeing her at the hospital a lot then," Carlisle chuckled.

**"'It's good to see you, Bells,' he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. 'You haven't changed much. How's Renee?'**

**'Mum's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face."**

"I should think not. He's yout father," Ezme said motherly.

**"I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mum and I had pooled out resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the crusier."**

"I'm taking her shopping when she get's here," Alice said.

**"'I found a good car for you, really cheap,' he announced when we were strapped in.**

**'What kind of car?' I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for **_**you**_**" as opposed to just "good car"**

**'Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy.'**

**'Where did you find it?'**

"Very persistant isn't she?" Edward said.

"Very," Emmett said with a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows.

**"'Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?' La Push is the tiny reservation on the coast."**

"Does he mean Elphrian Black's son?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know," Edward answered.

**"'No'**

**'He used to go fishing with us during the summer,' Charlie prompted.**

**That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessory things from my memory.**

Everyone except Carlisle and Ezme laughed at that.

**"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."**

**"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.**

"She not going to give up," Alice said.

"We kind of fingured that out, but thanks anyway Alice," Edward said sarcasticaly.

**"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine — it's only a few years old, really."**

**I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"**

"I think I like this human girl already," Emmett said, with a big goofy smile.

**"He bought it in 1984, I think."**

**"Did he buy it new?"**

**"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties — or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.**

**"Ch — Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"**

"My Rosie could fix it, couldn't you babe?" Emmett asked.

"Shut up, Emmett!" Rosalie said.

**"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."**

"I bet they don't," Rosalie said, looking bored.

_**The thing**_**, I thought to myself… it had possibilities — as a nickname, at the very least.**

**"How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.**

"Looks like she doesn't have a lot money then," Jasper said.

"It doesn't matter how much money she has. She seems like a bright, intelligent young lady to my," Ezme said, motherly.

"I know. Sorry mum," Jasper replaid, bowing his head.

**"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.**

"Aww, that was nice of him," Ezme said, sweetly.

"Yes it was, darling," Carlisle replaid.

**Wow. Free.**

**"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."**

**"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.**

"I think they need to talk more openly," Jasper said.

"Maybe Edward can help with that," Alice replaid evily.

Edward growled at her while everyone else laughed.

**"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth — or engine.**

**"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.**

**We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for Conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.**

**It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.**

**It was too green — an alien planet.**

"We're not exactly from this planet either," Emmett said, with a big grin.

-SMACK- "Yes we are actually, why did I marry an idoit?" Rosalie said.

"We were all wondering the same thing," Edward said.

"Hey!" Emmett said, angrilly.

Everyone just laughed at him.

**Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. **

**Those were the only kind of days their marriage had — the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new — well, new to me — truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. **

"That's wrong on so many levels. Maybe Edward could get her a new car," Rosalie said.

"Shut up Rose! We don't know whats going to happen yet," Edward said, getting pissed off.

**To my intense surprise, I loved it. I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged — the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.**

**"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.**

"Good choice," Edward said.

"I agree," Alice said.

**"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again.**

**It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard.**

"We will do something about that. Shopping Spree!" Alice screached.

Everyone had to cover their ears.

**The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window — these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a secondhand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner.**

**There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.**

"She must have lived in a house with two bathrooms," Carlisle mused to himself.

**One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning.**

"Aw, poor dear," Ezme said, worridly.

**Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven — now fifty-eight — students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together — their grandparents had been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.**

"Like us," Emmett said.

Jasper, Edward and Rosalie growled at him.

**Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I **_**should **_**be tan, sporty, blond — a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps — all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.**

**Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself — and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.**

Emmett let out a booming laugh.

"I have got to have her in my sports class. Deffinatly," Emmett said between his laughs.

**When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty — it was very clear, almost translucent-looking — but it all depended on color. I had no color here.**

"She would fit right in with us," Jasper said.

"Yes she would," Alice agreed with her husband.

**Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?**

"Exactly," Rosalie said.

"Can we continue with the story please?" Edward said.

"Of course," Carlisle responded.

**I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning.**

"You will be fine," Emmett said.

"Talking to a book Emmett, seriuosly?" Edward said, smirking.

"Shut up and leave me alone!" Emmett said, sulking.

**I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant **_**whooshing **_**of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.**

"That's Forks, for ya," Emmett said.

**Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.**

"A big spooky cage, with a monster in it," Emmett said, spookly.

-SMACK- "Ow, Rosie what was that for?"

"That wasn't me," Rosalie said in a bored tone.

Emmett looked over his shoulder to see Edward smirking.

**Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor.**

**Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's.**

"Aw, how sweet. He's got pictures of her in the living-room," Exme said.

**Those were embarrassing to look at — I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here.**

"That wouldn't be right. We put them there for a reason," Ezme said, scoldingly.

**It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.**

**I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket — which had the feel of a biohazard suit — and headed out into the rain.**

"ARRGGG! We will go shopping when I meet her!" Alice said angrilly.

"Calm down darlin'," Jasper soothed.

**It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted; I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood.**

"Why would she even want to admire it, it's hidious," Rosalie said.

**Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.**

"I didn't expect that either," Edward said.

"No, you wouldn't," Alice said matter-of-factly.

**Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?**

"You arn't in Florida anymore," Jasper said.

"They have that in Florida?" Emmett asked amused.

"Yes, they do," Edward responded.

**I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.**

**Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. **

**There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.**

"It's Ms. Cope," Emmett said.

"We know," Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Edward said at the same time.

**The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"**

**"I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.**

"I have heard gossip going around in the hospital of the Chief's daughter coming to town," Carlisle said.

**"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show me.**

**She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.**

"She really hates Forks dowsn't she? I wonder why she would come here then," Edward mused.

"We will find out soon," Alice replaid.

**When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo,**

"My baby," Edward cooed.

"We'll probably come into the story now, right?" Emmett asked.

"Probably," Rosalie replaid, getting into the story.

**and it stood out. Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.**

**I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me. **

"Except us," Emmett said.

"Shut up!" Everyone except Ezme and Carlisle shouted.

**I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.**

**I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.**

**Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.**

**The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here.**

"Deffiantly not," Emmett said.

-SMACK- "Now, shut up, Emmett!" Rosalie said.

**I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name — not an encouraging response —**

"Now it is not," Ezme said.

"I agree with you," Carlisle said.

**and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting… and boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.**

"That would be cheating," Edward said.

"Really, you cheat all the time," Rosalie said.

**When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.**

"Eric Yorkie," Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice said.

**"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.**

"Well, duh," Emmett said.

-SMACK-

-SMACK-

"What the hell?" Emmett said angrily, glaring at Rosalie and Edward.

**"Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.**

**"Where's your next class?" he asked.**

**I had to check in my bag. "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."**

**There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.**

**"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" Definitely over-helpful. "I'm Eric," he added.**

**I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."**

"He's very over-helpful when it involves a girl," Edward said.

**We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.**

**"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.**

**"Very."**

**"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"**

**"Three or four times a year."**

"Really?" Emmett asked.

"Yes!" Rosalie replaid.

**"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.**

"Sunny," Edward said.

**"Sunny," I told him.**

"Stop repeating yourself," Emmett said.

**"You don't look very tan."**

**"My mother is part albino."**

"I don't get it," Emmett said, confused.

"Of course you don't," Edward said, with a smirk.

**He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix.**

**A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm.**

**We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.**

**"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.**

**I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.**

"I really hate him," Edward said angrily.

"I wonder why," Alice said, while blocking her mind to Edward.

**The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.**

Emmett booming laugh shook the whole house.

**After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map.**

**One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights.**

"Jessica Stanley," the Cullen kids said.

**I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.**

**We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.**

"I still hate him," Edward said.

**It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.**

"Who?" Emmett said.

"Let's find out shall we," Carlisle said.

**They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room.**

**There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.**

"She's noticed that we don't eat? Not many people notice that," Jasper said.

"Like I said, she's preseptive," Edward responded.

**They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big — muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. **

"That's me," Emmett said happily.

**Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. **

"That's Jasper," Emmett said.

"I know it's me, Emmett," Jasper said.

**The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. **

Emmett laughed at that.

"Less bulky," Emmett still contiuned to laugh.

-SMACK- "Shut up, Emmett!" Edward said.

**He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.**

**The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the **_**Sports Illustrated **_**swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. **

"That's a beautiful description of you Rosie," Emmett said.

"Yes it is. I think I like her already," Rosalie replaid.

**The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.**

"My description wasn't bad either," Alice whined.

"Of course not darlin'," Jasper replaid.

**And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruiselike shadows. **

"We mustn't of hunted that day," Jasper said.

**As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular.**

**But all this is not why I couldn't look away.**

"Why then?" Emmett asked.

**I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.**

"Oh," Emmett said.

**They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful — maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.**

"She called Edward beautiful," Emmett laughed.

"Shut up!" Edward said angrily.

**They were all looking away — away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray — unopened soda, unbitten apple — and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. **

"You were walking to fast, Alice," Ezme scolded her.

"Sorry mum," Alice said.

**My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.**

**"Who are **_**they**_**?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.**

**As she looked up to see who I meant — though already knowing, probably, from my tone — suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.**

"Aw, how cute," Alice said happily.

**He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my** **eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest — it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.**

"I probably heard her thoughts," Edward said.

**My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.**

**"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath.**

**I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.**

"His perfect lips," Emmett imitated Edward's voice badly.

Everyone laughed and Edward scowled.

**Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here — small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.**

**"They are… very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.**

**"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all **_**together **_**though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they **_**live **_**together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.**

"I bet," Emmett said.

**"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"**

**"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales **_**are **_**brother and sister, twins — the blondes — and they're foster children."**

**"They look a little old for foster children."**

**"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."**

**"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."**

**"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. **

"It is jealousy," Edward said.

"I agree bro," Emmett replaid.

**"I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.**

"She's very sweet. Don't you think, Carlisle?" Ezme asked.

"Yes, very sweet indeed. She did after all defend us, and she doesn't even know us," Carlisle responded.

"Yet," Alice added on.

**Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.**

**"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.**

"Not likely," Edward said.

"We haven't really been here that long," Jasper said.

**"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."**

**I felt a surge of pity, and relief. **

"That's weird. Nobody usally has those two emotions togther," Jasper mused to himself.

"I wonder why," Edward said.

**Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.**

"That's why," Edward said.

"I guess they can go together like that," Jasper said.

**As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.**

"Probably reading into her thoughts," Edward said.

**"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today — he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.**

"What are you frustrated about?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know. Continue please Carlisle," Edward replaid.

**"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.**

"Which time," Edward asked, amused.

**I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.**

"He probably is," Emmett said laughing.

**After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful — even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.**

"Why didn't you look at her again?" Ezme asked.

"I don't know. We are reading a book, and if this is in the future, then I won't know til it happens. Or until we finish the book," Edward said.

**I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. **

**One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class**

**together in silence. She was shy, too.**

"I like Angela," Edward said.

"Me too," Alice replaid.

**When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.**

"Looks like she's going to sit by you," Emmett said.

"I know, dumbass," Edward said.

"Lauguage Edward," Ezme scolded her oldest son.

"Sorry mum," Edward said.

**As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face — it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table.**

"Edward, what's wrong?" Ezme asked worridly.

"I don't know," Edward said sadly.

**The girl sitting there giggled.**

**I'd noticed that his eyes were black — coal black.**

"She noticed your eyes?" Jasper asked.

"Obviously. She likes him," Alice replaid.

**Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by **_**him**_**, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.**

**I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. **

"Or something good. You're blood," Emmett said laughing.

**Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.**

**Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.**

"She's very intelligent," Carlisle mused.

**I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.**

Everyone laughed at that.

"That's not fair. I'm tougher and stronger than Eddie," Emmett whined.

"Of course you are," Rosalie said.

"Don't call me Eddie!" Edward shouted.

**The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.**

"Please don't side with Jessica. It's not my normal behavior, I'll be good I promise," Edward said.

"Talking to the book Eddie, really?" Rosalie said.

"Shut up! And don't call me Eddie!" Edward shouted again.

**It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.**

**I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase **_**if looks could kill **_**suddenly ran through my mind.**

Everyone laughed.

"I wouldn't look that bad would I?" Edward asked.

"I think you will need to hunt before you meet her, just incase," Carlisle said.

**At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose — he was much taller than I'd thought — his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.**

"Too fast Edward," Ezme scolded.

"I won't do it when the time comes," Edward said.

**I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.**

"Aw, poor dear," Ezme said.

**"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.**

**I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.**

Everyone laughed again.

"I hate Mike too," Edward said.

"How do you know it's Mike?" Emmett said.

"Let's find out then shall we?" Edward replaid.

**"Bella," I corrected him, with a smile.**

**"I'm Mike."**

"Oh," Emmett said, looking embaressed.

"Told you so," Edward said, with a smirk.

**"Hi, Mike."**

**"Do you need any help finding your next class?"**

**"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."**

**"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.**

**We walked to class together; he was a chatterer — he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.**

"I think she's starting to like him," Alice said.

"Over my dead body," Edward said.

"Your already dead man," Emmett laughed.

Everyone joined in laughing.

**But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."**

**I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that **_**wasn't **_**Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.**

"Oh, great," Edward said.

**"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.**

**"Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."**

**"I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."**

**"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."**

"Of course he would," Edward said iratated.

**I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring.**

**But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.**

**The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class.**

"Aw, no fair," Emmett whined.

"I don't think your in her class, she hasn't mentioned you yet, Emmett," Carlisle said.

**At home, only two years of RE. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.**

"She should've stayed home then," Edward said.

**I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained — and inflicted — playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated.**

Emmett let a booming laugh that could be heard all over Forks.

**The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.**

**When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.**

"Why?" Edward and Emmett asked at the same time.

"Boys let me continue please," Carlisle scolded.

"Sorry dad," they both said.

**Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.**

**He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time — any other time.**

**I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me.**

"Edward you better be nicer to this girl, you hear me young man?" Ezme scolded.

"Sorry mum, I'll try," Edward replaid.

**The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me — his face was absurdly handsome — with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.**

"Usually people get more fear then a couple of seconds. Somethings wrong here," Jasper said.

"Your right son. Let's continue and find out," Carlisle said.

**"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.**

**I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.**

**"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.**

**"Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.**

"You scared her," Ezme said.

"I know," Edward replaid.

**When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life.**

**I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there.**

"That's the end of that chapter. Who wants to read next?" Carlisle asked.

"I will dear," Ezme said.

Carlisle handed Ezme the book so that she could continue.

**a/n Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Please read and review. I will have the next chapter up soon.**


	3. Open Book

**a/n Here is the next chapter. Enjoy : )**

**disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, SM does.**

Chapter 2: Open Book

**"Open Book" **Ezme read.

"Well this should be interesting," Emmett said.

"Do you even know what it means?" Rosalie asked.

"Nope," Emmett replaid popping the 'p'.

"Well, shut up then," Rosalie said angrily.

**The next day was better… and worse.**

"I wonder why," Emmett said to himself.

**It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was nattering. People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.**

"Nice way to start the day," Rosalie said sarcastically.

"Rosie be nice," Emmett said.

**It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it. And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.**

"She hit her teammate in the head with a ball," Emmett said while laughing his head off.

"Aww, she wanted to see Edward," Alice said, ignoring Emmett.

"Why weren't you in school?" Ezme said sadly.

"I don't know, it's not real, yet," Edward said.

**All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.**

Everyone laughed at that.

**But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica — trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely — I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.**

**Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false.**

"I have no idea why I didn't go to school. She must have smelled to nice," Edward said.

"Maybe she's your singer," Carlisle mused.

Everyone looked at Edward and Carlisle in surprise.

**He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense.**

**I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class. I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. **

"Mike's a golden retriever. He needs a new name. How about spotty?" Emmett asked.

-SMACK-

"Shut up!" Rosalie screached.

**Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing**

**with overly friendly boys.**

"I don't think she's ever had a boyfriend," Emmett said matter-of-factly.

"Ya think," Rosalie said.

**I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.**

"Because it is," Alice said.

"We know," Rosalie said.

**When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident, I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed.**

"What did she need?" Emmett asked.

"We will find out now son," Ezme said.

**Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon. So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway.**

"Oh, that's what she needed," Emmett said

"Oviously," Rosalie repliad sarcastically.

**I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new Volvo. Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before — **

"Who would not notice our clothes, I picked them out myself," Alice whined.

"Don't worry Ali, she was to mesmarized by Edwards beauty," Jasper snickered.

Edward covered his head in his hands, looking embarrased.

**I'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.**

"No it doesn't," Alice said.

"I know," Rosalie said.

"Such fashion divas," Emmett said.

"Shut up!" Alice and Rosalie responded.

**No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.**

**They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else. I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds.**

"Well, at least we noticed her," Alice said.

"More like noticed her truck," Rosalie responded.

**The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.**

"She really, really hates Forks doesn't she?" Emmett asked.

-SMACK- "Ow, Rosie, I was just being honest," Emmett whined.

"We already know hoe much she really hates Forks, without you commenting on it," Rosalie said, angrily.

**When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.**

"That sounds discusting," Edward said.

"Humans have to eat, Edward," Carlisle said.

**When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair up into a pony-tail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages.**

**"Bella," my mom wrote…**

**Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already.**

**I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I**

**put it? Phil says hi. Mom.**

**I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.**

**"Bella," she wrote…**

**Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? What are you waiting for? Mom.**

"She's reading now," Emmett said.

"That's it!" Rosalie screamed.

She started chasing Emmett all over the house to try and hit him.

"Enough!" Carlisle said sternly.

They both walked back into the living-room.

"Sorry dad," They both said.

-SMACK- "What?" Emmett whined.

"You just deserved it," Rosalie said.

**The last was from this morning.**

**Isabella,**

**If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.**

**I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun.**

"That's how mother's are," Ezme said.

**Mom,**

**Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.**

**Bella.**

"You mean typing?" Emmett said.

Rosalie raised her hand.

"Sorry, sorry, I won't do it again," Emmett said, scared.

**I sent that, and began again.**

**Mom,**

**Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch.**

**Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up Friday.**

**Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.**

**I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes.**

**Relax, breathe. I love you.**

**Bella.**

**I had decided to read **_**Wuthering Heights **_**— the novel we were currently studying in English — yet again for the fun of it, and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.**

**"Bella?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.**

**Who else? I thought to myself.**

Everyone laughed at that.

**"Hey, Dad, welcome home."**

**"Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready. When I came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.**

Emmett's booming laughter shook the house.

"Please don't break the windows Emmett," Ezme scolded.

"Sorry mum," Emmett said, trying to stop his laughter.

**"What's for dinner?" he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.**

**"Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved.**

**He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table.**

"I hate human food, it tastes like dirt," Emmett said.

"We know," everyone replaid.

**I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.**

**"Smells good, Bell."**

**"Thanks."**

**We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.**

**"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.**

**"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.**

"Edward," Rosalie and Emmett said.

"Be nicer to her next time," Ezme scolded.

**"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."**

**"Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.**

**"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."**

**"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school." Charlie surprised me by looking angry.**

**"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should — camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."**

Everyone was speechless.

Carlisle snapped out of it first.

"That was very nice of him," Carlisle said.

"He's a very nice man," Ezme agreed with her husband.

**It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.**

**I backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.**

**"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."**

"Really?" Ezme said, looking at Carlisle with angry eyes.

"I never noticed darling," Carlisle said quickly.

**We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand — no dishwasher — I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.**

**That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.**

**The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.**

**Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.**

"Edward, you didn't leave us did you?" Ezme asked.

"I would never leave my family again," Edward replaid.

**Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire. Beaches should be hot and dry.**

"I agree with her there," Edward said.

**By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.**

"You are responsible," Rosalie said.

"It's just a book Rose, it hasn't happened yet," Edward said.

**My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful e-mail. I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got… and shuddered at the thought.**

"I'm with her on that one," Rosalie said.

Everyone laughed.

**The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.**

**People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on **_**Wuthering Heights**_**. It was straightforward, very easy.**

**All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here.**

**When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.**

"It's snowing," Emmett cheered.

"Well done, einstein," Jasper said snickering.

**"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."**

"Dumbass," the Cullen kids said.

"Kids lauguage," Ezme scolded.

**I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.**

**"Ew." Snow. There went my good day.**

**He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"**

**"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."**

Everyone laughed, Emmett the loudest.

**"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.**

**"Sure I have." I paused. "On TV."**

**Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us — in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike appatently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.**

"I would loved to have seen that," Edward said, laughing.

"Me too," Emmett agreed, laughing.

**"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."**

**He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.**

**Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. **

**Sure, it was drier than rain — until it melted in your socks.**

**I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.**

"She probably would throw one at Bella herself," Edward agreed with the book.

**Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.**

"Yay, Edward's back," Emmett squeeled like a little girl.

-SMACK-

-SMACK-

"Hey, leave me alone! Your all so mean!" Emmett cried.

**Jessica pulled on my arm.**

**"Hello? Bella? What do you want?"**

**I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.**

**"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.**

"Ask your self, idiot," Edward said.

**"Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end of the line.**

**"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.**

**"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.**

**I waited for them to **_**get **_**their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.**

**I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling.**

"Suck-up," Rosalie said, disgusted.

"I agree," Alice, Jasper, Edward and Emmett said.

**I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I **_**should **_**play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.**

**Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.**

**I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.**

"I don't think she's a coward," Edward said.

"I think someone falling in love with Bella," Emmett said, making kissing nosies.

**I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.**

**They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow.**

"Snowball fight!" Emmett screamed.

"SHUT UP!" they all said.

**Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.**

**But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided — flushed from the snow fight maybe — the circles under his eyes much less noticeable.**

"She observing you all again," Carlisle said.

**But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.**

**"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.**

**At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.**

"Aww, love at first sight," Alice said.

**I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.**

"I wonder why that is?" Carlisle mused.

"I have no idea," Edward responded.

**"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in my ear.**

**"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help asking.**

**"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"**

**"I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.**

**"The Cullens don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."**

**"Stop looking at him," I hissed.**

**She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.**

"I don't see her as a violent person," Carlisle said.

"Neither do I," Jasper agreed.

**Mike interrupted us then — he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.**

Everyone laughed.

**For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again.**

"She really likes you," Alice said.

"I'm starting to believe you now," Edward replaid.

**I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual — he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers — but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym.**

"I think God's on her side," Jasper said.

**Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.**

**Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.**

**I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.**

"You're probably trying not to frighten her," Carlisle said.

**"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.**

"You talked to her?" Ezme asked.

"I guess," Edward responded,

**I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled — even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.**

"She loves your face, bro," Emmett said chuckling.

"Shut up!" Edward said, bowing his head while everyone laughed.

**"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."**

**My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.**

**"H-how do you know my name?" I stammered.**

**He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh.**

"Enchanting? Seriously?" Emmett laughed.

Everyone laughed along with him.

"Shut ip! Now!" Edward screamed, hiding his face.

**"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive." I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.**

**"No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"**

"You made a mistake their Edward," Carlisle said.

"I can see," Edward said.

**He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"**

**"No, I like Bella," I said. "But I think Charlie — I mean my dad — must call me Isabella behind my back — that's what everyone here seems to know me as," I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron.**

Everyone laughed.

**"Oh." He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.**

**Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.**

**"Get started," he commanded.**

**"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.**

**"Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.**

**"No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."**

**I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.**

"Very smart girl," Carlisle said.

"She's showing off, for little Eddie," Emmett laughed.

"Don't call me Eddie!" Edward growled.

**My assessment was confident. "Prophase."**

**"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.**

"An electric current? I'll have to find out more about that," Carlisle mused to himself.

"Weird," Edward said.

**"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.**

**"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.**

**"Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.**

**I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"**

**He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.**

**I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.**

Emmett laughed so hard that if he was human he would be purple in the face.

**"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.**

**He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.**

**I took the most fleeting look I could manage.**

**"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.**

**We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.**

"Cheater's," Edward muttered.

"Like you," Jasper said.

**Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him… unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes. Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.**

**"Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly.**

"She noticed your eyes," Jasper said.

"Seems that way," Edward replaid.

**He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. "No."**

**"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."**

**He shrugged, and looked away.**

**In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me — the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word.**

"Not at all," Emmett said.

**I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.**

**Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.**

**"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.**

"Why do I always get blamed?" Edward asked.

"Because you're a smart-ass," Rosalie replaid.

**"Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."**

**Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.**

**"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.**

**I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."**

**"Whitefish blastula?"**

**"Yeah."**

**Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"**

**"Yes."**

"I would really like to meet this girl when she arrives," Carlisle said.

"Me too," Emmett said.

**"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again.**

**"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked. I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.**

"We all probably heard her conversation," Jasper said.

**"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.**

**"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.**

**"Or the wet."**

**"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.**

**"You have no idea," I muttered darkly.**

"We will finally find out why she came here," Emmett said.

**He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.**

**"Why did you come here, then?"**

**No one had asked me that — not straight out like he did, demanding.**

"You shouldn't be so demanding," Jasper said.

**"It's… complicated."**

**"I think I can keep up," he pressed.**

**I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.**

**"My mother got remarried," I said.**

**"That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic. "When did that happen?"**

**"Last September." My voice sounded sad, even to me.**

**"And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind.**

**"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough."**

**"Why didn't you stay with them?"**

**I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.**

**"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.**

**"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.**

**"Probably not. He doesn't play **_**well**_**. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."**

**"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, not a question.**

**My chin raised a fraction. "No, she did not send me here. I sent myself."**

**His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.**

"Guys. I don't think I can read her mind," Edward said.

"We should find out more about this," Carlisle said.

**I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.**

**"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie." My voice was glum by the time I finished.**

**"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.**

**"And?" I challenged.**

**"That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.**

**I laughed without humor. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."**

"Yes, I have been told," Edward said.

**"I believe I **_**have **_**heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.**

**"So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.**

**His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."**

**I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.**

Emmett and Alice laughed at that.

**"Am I wrong?"**

**I tried to ignore him.**

**"I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.**

"Edward, you arn't always right, you know," Alice said.

**"Why does it matter to **_**you**_**?" I asked, irritated. I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.**

**"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself.**

"Yes very good question indeed," Jasper said.

**However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get.**

**I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.**

**"Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.**

"I think you are," Emmett said.

"Shut up," Edward said.

"Leave your brother alone, Emmett," Ezme scolded.

**I glanced at him without thinking… and told the truth again. "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read — my mother always calls me her open book." I frowned.**

**"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.**

**"You must be a good reader then," I replied.**

**"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultrawhite teeth.**

"Trying to scare her, really?" Alice asked.

"Maybe," Edward replaid.

"I think she's tougher than that," Jasper said.

**Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me. He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.**

**I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.**

**When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.**

"Walk slower next time son," Carlisle scolded.

"I will," Edward said.

**Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail.**

Everyone started laughing again.

**"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."**

**"I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption. I regretted the snub instantly. "I've done the lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.**

"Who cares about his dame feeling?" Edward said.

"She's got a heart of gold," Ezme said.

**"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. **

**He didn't seem pleased about it. I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."**

**I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and RE. didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.**

"I have got to see this girl in action," Emmett said.

"Me too," Jasper replaid.

**The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.**

**I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction. I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste.**

"That poor Toyota wouldn't stand a chance," Rosalie said.

**Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of. I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.**

"I probably was," Edward said.

"That's the end of that chapter. Who wants to read next?" Ezme asked.

"I will, please Ezme," Edward responded.

Ezme handed the book over to Edward.

**a/n There it is. Next chapter up soon. Hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review. Thanks**


	4. Phenomenon

**a/n Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy : ) I finally found my work, I thought I had completly lost it and would have to re-do it, but its all okay.**

**disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, SM does.**

Chapter 3: Phenomenon

**"Phenomenon" **Edward reads.

"What does that mean?" Emmett asked.

"It means something out of the ordinary," Carlisle replaid.

"Oh," Emmett said.

**When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.**

"What?" Emmett asked.

**It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window.**

**I jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror.**

"Why?" Emmett asked.

"Emmett, please shut up, so we can hear the story," Alice said.

**A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road. But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid — coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now.**

Everyone laughed at that.

"She might end in hospital in this chapter, so I might meet her," Carlisle said cheerfully.

**Charlie had left for work before I got downstairs. In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.**

**I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton. I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me. I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating, or seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Edward Cullen. And that was very, very stupid.**

"Yes it is," Edward agreed.

"No it isn't Edward!" Esme scolded.

**I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. And I was suspicious of him; why should he lie about his eyes? I was still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, and I was still tongue-tied whenever I pictured his perfect face. **

"Perfect, my arse," Emmett said.

"Emmett, watch your lauguage!" Esme scolded.

"Sorry mum," Emmett replaid.

**I was well aware that my league and his league were spheres that did not touch. So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today.**

**It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance when I finally got to the truck, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish.**

"I bet," said all the cullen kids.

**Driving to school, I distracted myself from my fear of falling and my unwanted speculations about Edward Cullen by thinking about Mike and Eric, and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to me here. I was sure I looked exactly the same as I had in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of me that way. Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between. Possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as a damsel in distress. Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored.**

"Why would she want to be ignored for?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know, babe," Emmett answered.

**My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street.**

"That would be funny to see," said Emmett.

"No it wouldn't," said both Esme and Carlisle.

**When I got out of my truck at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back of the truck — carefully holding the side for support — to examine my tires.**

**There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on my truck. My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.**

"He's her dad, of course he'd want to look after her," Esme said.

**I was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound.**

"Oh, no," said all the Cullen's.

**It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled. I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies.**

**Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.**

**Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror. His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them. I didn't even have time to close my eyes.**

"Oh, God. Save her Edward," Esme panicked.

"I most probably will. Don't worry," Edward reasured her.

**Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting. **

"YAY, Edward to the rescue," Emmett said, punching his hand in the air like superman.

SMACK

"What did I do now?"

"Bust my ear drums," Rosalie said irritated.

"But your a vampire," Emmett said, smiling, thinking he was smart.

"Shut up!" the Cullen kids shouted.

**My head cracked against the icy blacktop, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground.**

"Edwards pinning a girl down," Emmett snickered.

"Shut up, Emmett," Edward said annoyed.

**I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to. But I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with me **_**again**_**.**

"Oh, God," Esme whispered.

**A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize.**

Emmett and Japser snickered.

**Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.**

**Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a rag doll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt — exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been.**

"She noticed all that?" Carlisle asked.

"Seems so," Alice answered mysterciously.

**It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in my ear.**

**"Bella? Are you all right?"**

**"I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up, and realized he was holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp.**

**"Be careful," he warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."**

**I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.**

**"Ow," I said, surprised.**

**"That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter.**

"Now is not the time to laugh, Edward," Esme scolded.

"Sorry mum," Edward said.

**"How in the…" I trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. "How did you get over here so fast?"**

**"I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, his tone serious again.**

**I turned to sit up, and this time he let me, releasing his hold around my waist and sliding as far from me as he could in the limited space. I looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again by the force of his gold-colored eyes. What was I asking him?**

**And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.**

**"Don't move," someone instructed.**

**"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.**

**There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Edward's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.**

**"Just stay put for now."**

**"But it's cold," I complained. It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. There was an edge to the sound.**

"That's all she can say, is it's cold," laughed Jasper.

"Yep," Emmett said popping the 'p'.

**"You were over there," I suddenly remembered, and his chuckle stopped short. "You were by your car."**

**His expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."**

**"I saw you." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; I was right, and he was going to admit it.**

"Not likely," Edward said.

**"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He unleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.**

**"No." I set my jaw.**

**The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Bella."**

**"Why?" I demanded.**

**"Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.**

**I could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"**

**"Fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.**

**"Fine," I repeated angrily.**

"Pleasant conversation," muttered Rosalie.

"Shut up!" Edward said.

**It took six EMTs and two teachers — Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp — to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion. I almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening.**

"That's what she said!" Emmett shouted.

SMACK

"Ow! Rosie," Emmett whined.

"What? It wasn't me," Rosalie said.

Jasper looked in the opposite direction.

**To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely away.**

**"Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.**

**"I'm completely fine, Char — Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."**

**He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. **

**When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper — a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame…**

"So careless," Rosalie mumbled.

**And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety.**

"Looks like we didn't help much," Jasper said.

**I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen — a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.**

**Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. I ground my teeth together.**

**They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.**

"She shouldn't do that," Carlisle said worried.

**There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring anxiously at me.**

**"Bella, I'm so sorry!"**

**"I'm fine, Tyler — you look awful, are you all right?" As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.**

"That sounds nasty," Alice said.

**He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.**

**"Don't worry about it; you missed me."**

**"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…"**

**"Umm… Edward pulled me out of the way."**

"She lied for you? She must really like you," Jasper said.

"Yeah..." Edward said thoughtful.

**He looked confused. "Who?"**

**"Edward Cullen — he was standing next to me." I'd always been a terrible liar; I didn't sound convincing at all.**

**"Cullen? I didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"**

**"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."**

**I knew I wasn't crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain away what I'd seen.**

**They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right.**

Everyone laughed at that.

**Not even a concussion. I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to me. No matter how many times I tried to convince him I was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.**

**"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open.**

"Musical, my arse," laughed Emmett.

"Lauguage Emmett," Esme scolded.

**Edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at him. It wasn't easy — it would have been more natural to ogle.**

**"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry —" Tyler began.**

**Edward lifted a hand to stop him.**

**"No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing me. He smirked again.**

**"So, what's the verdict?" he asked me.**

**"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," I complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"**

**"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."**

"Git," Rosalie mumbled.

**Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. **

All the Cullen kids laughed. Carlisle would have blushed if he could.

**He was young, he was blond… and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen. He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Edward's father.**

**"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "how are you feeling?"**

**"I'm fine," I said, for the last time, I hoped.**

**He walked to the lightboard on the wall over my head, and turned it on.**

**"Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."**

**"It's fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.**

**The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced.**

**"Tender?" he asked.**

**"Not really." I'd had worse.**

Emmett's laughter shuck the house.

**I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed.**

**"Well, your father is in the waiting room — you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."**

**"Can't I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive.**

**"Maybe you should take it easy today."**

**I glanced at Edward. "Does **_**he **_**get to go to school?"**

"Yeah, you tell him how it is girl," Emmett said in a girl voice.

The others looked at him weird.

**"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly.**

**"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."**

**"Oh no," I moaned, covering my face with my hands.**

**Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"**

**"No, no!" I insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly — I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me. He looked concerned.**

"Of course I would," Carlisle said.

**"I'm fine," I assured him again. No need to tell him my balance problems had nothing to do with hitting my head.**

Everyone laughed.

**"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me.**

**"It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted.**

**"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish.**

**"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," I amended with a hard glance at the subject of my statement.**

**"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. My intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it.**

**"I'm afraid that **_**you'll **_**have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.**

**As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I moved to Edward's side.**

**"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I hissed under my breath. **

"Ha, ha, someone's in troble," Emmett said.

**He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.**

"She must have been satnding to close," Edward said.

**"Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.**

**I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler.**

**"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed.**

**He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me.**

**"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.**

"Edward! Where's your manners?" Esme shouted.

"I don't know," Edward said.

**His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I'd intended. "You owe me an explanation," I reminded him.**

**"I saved your life — I don't owe you anything."**

**I flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "You promised."**

**"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." His tone was cutting.**

**My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. "There's nothing wrong with my head."**

**He glared back. "What do you want from me, Bella?"**

**"I want to know the truth," I said. "I want to know why I'm lying for you."**

**"What do you **_**think **_**happened?" he snapped.**

**It came out in a rush.**

**"All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me — Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both — and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it — and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all — and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" I could hear how crazy it sounded, and I couldn't continue. I was so mad I could feel the tears coming; I tried to force them back by grinding my teeth together.**

"She saw everything," Rosalie said annoyed.

"She's very observant," Carlisle said ammused.

**He was staring at me incredulously. But his face was tense, defensive.**

**"You think I lifted a van off you?" His tone questioned my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfectly delivered line by a skilled actor.**

**I merely nodded once, jaw tight.**

**"Nobody will believe that, you know." His voice held an edge of derision now.**

**"I'm not going to tell anybody." I said each word slowly, carefully controlling my anger.**

**Surprise flitted across his face. "Then why does it matter?"**

**"It matters to me," I insisted. "I don't like to lie — so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."**

**"Can't you just thank me and get over it?"**

**"Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant.**

**"You're not going to let it go, are you?"**

**"No."**

**"In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment."**

**We scowled at each other in silence. I was the first to speak, trying to keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his livid, glorious face. It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.**

**"Why did you even bother?" I asked frigidly.**

**He paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedly vulnerable.**

**"I don't know," he whispered.**

"Why would you say that?" Esme asked worried.

"I don't know," Edward whispered.

**And then he turned his back on me and walked away.**

**I was so angry, it took me a few minutes until I could move. When I could walk, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway.**

**The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my side; I put up my hands.**

**"There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly. I was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.**

**"What did the doctor say?"**

**"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." I sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged.**

"Sounds like she wants to get away from everyone," Jasper commented.

**Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief— the first time I'd ever felt that way — to get into the cruiser.**

**We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely knew Charlie was there. I was positive that Edward's defensive behavior in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things I still could hardly believe I'd witnessed.**

Rosalie glared at Edward.

**When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.**

**"Um… you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty.**

**I was appalled. "You told Mom!"**

**"Sorry."**

**I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.**

"Of course her mum would want to know if she's alright," Esme said worried.

**My mom was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged me to come home — forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment — but her pleas were easier to resist than I would have thought. I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I wasn't as eager to escape Forks as I should be, as any normal, sane person would be.**

"She's not exactely normal or sane is she?" Emmett asked.

"No," Jasper and Alice replaid.

**I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. I stopped on my way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased, I drifted to sleep.**

**That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Edward said.

"I wanna read next," Alice said and reached for the book.

"The next chapter is '**Invitations.'**

**a/n Hope you all enjoyed. Please read and review. Thanks.**


	5. Invitations

**A/N: Hi, I'm sorry I haven't been writing for a while. I've been unwell. Now that i'm back, I will be finishing this series and a few others i've been thinking about doing. Enjoy : )**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight, SM does.**

Chapter 4: Invitation

**"Invitations," **Alice read.

"What does that mean?" Emmett asked.

"It's means she's being invited somewhere, dipshit," Jasper replied with a smirk.

"Lauguage!" Esme scolded.

**In my dream it was very dark, **

"Yeah, we do get to hear her dream," Emmett cheered.

There was a very load SMACK from the loveseat.

"What was that for Rosie?" Emmett whined, rubbing his head.

"For interupting every sentence," Rosalie replied, while checking her nails.

**and what dim light there was seemed to be radiating from Edward's skin.**

"How could she know that?" Carlisle asked, worried.

"I don't know, but I don't like the sound of that," Jasper replied.

**I couldn't see his face, just his back as he walked away from me, leaving me in the blackness. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't catch up to him; no matter how loud I called, he never turned.**

"I think she really likes you son," Esme smiled.

Emmett was making kissie faces at Edward, which earned him another smack from Rosalie.

**Troubled, I woke in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep again for what seemed like a very long time. After that, he was in my dreams nearly every night, but always on the periphery, never within reach.**

**The month that followed the accident was uneasy, tense, and, at first, embarrassing.**

**To my dismay, I found myself the center of attention for the rest of that week. Tyler Crowley was impossible, following me around, obsessed with making amends to me somehow. I tried to convince him what I wanted more than anything else was for him to forget all about it — especially since nothing had actually happened to me — but he remained insistent. **

"Yep, another admirer," Jasper smiled.

"Shut up," Edward said.

**He followed me between classes and sat at our now-crowded lunch table. Mike and Eric were even less friendly toward him than they were to each other, which made me worry that I'd gained another unwelcome fan.**

**No one seemed concerned about Edward, though I explained over and over that he was the hero — how he had pulled me out of the way and had nearly been crushed, too. I tried to be convincing. Jessica, Mike, Eric, and everyone else always commented that they hadn't even seen him there till the van was pulled away.**

"She is protecting me even though I haven't done anything for her," Edward said surprised.

"You did save her life," Esme pointed out.

"And endanger her more just by being around her," Edward said.

**I wondered to myself why no one else had seen him standing so far away, before he was suddenly, impossibly saving my life. **

"Because she loves you," Alice said. "She'll notice a lot more things soon."

"What have you seen?" Edward questioned her.

"Nothing. I can't see the future of the book," Alice replied.

**With chagrin, I realized the probable cause — no one else was as aware of Edward as I always was. No one else watched him the way I did. How pitiful.**

"Yes very pitiful," Emmett mocked.

"Shut up!" The other four cullen kids shouted. Carlisle and Esme were just smiling at there kids.

**Edward was never surrounded by crowds of curious bystanders eager for his firsthand account. People avoided him as usual. The Cullens and the Hales sat at the same table as always, not eating, talking only among themselves. None of them, especially Edward, glanced my way anymore.**

**When he sat next to me in class, as far from me as the table would allow, he seemed totally unaware of my presence. **

"Not a chance," Edward said.

"Yeah, I bet you're using your gift to keep tabs on her every move," Alice smirked.

"Not a chance," Edward repeated, though Alice did notice with a smirk that his voice didn't sound anywhere near as convinced with that statement as he did with the other.

**Only now and then, when his fists would suddenly ball up — skin stretched even whiter over the bones — did I wonder if he wasn't quite as oblivious as he appeared.**

**He wished he hadn't pulled me from the path of Tyler 's van — there was no other conclusion I could come to.**

"No, Edward would never think that," Esme said dismaly.

"He never should have saved her," Rosalie pointed out, still glaring at Edward.

"Even if he thought he should have never saved her he would never regret his decision to do it," Esme said confidently.

"Even if he wasn't in love with her," Alice added teasingly.

"Shut up Alice," Edward said, gritting his teeth, as Esme began reading again with a smile.

**I wanted very much to talk to him, and the day after the accident I tried. The last time I'd seen him, outside the ER, we'd both been so furious. I still was angry that he wouldn't trust me with the truth, even though I was keeping my part of the bargain flawlessly. But he had in fact saved my life, no matter how he'd done it. And, overnight, the heat of my anger faded into awed gratitude.**

**He was already seated when I got to Biology, looking straight ahead. I sat down, expecting him to turn toward me. He showed no sign that he realized I was there.**

**"Hello, Edward," I said pleasantly, to show him I was going to behave myself.**

**He turned his head a fraction toward me without meeting my gaze, nodded once, and then looked the other way.**

"I understand why you have to do this son," Carlisle said, frowning. "But I still wish you didn't have to be so mean and rude to her,"

**And that was the last contact I'd had with him, though he was there, a foot away from me, every day. I watched him sometimes, unable to stop myself— from a distance, though, in the cafeteria or parking lot. I watched as his golden eyes grew perceptibly darker day by day. **

"Argh, she notices too much," Jasper groaned.

"Just let it go Jazz," Emmett said.

"It's not in my nature Em," Jasper sighed. "Not when it's dangerous to us - to people I care about."

**But in class I gave no more notice that he existed than he showed toward me. I was miserable. And the dreams continued.**

**Despite my outright lies, the tenor of my e-mails alerted Renée to my depression,**

"Of course, mothers always knows things like that," Esme said proudly, allowing herself to glance at each of her children before continuing reading.

**and she called a few times, worried. I tried to convince her it was just the weather that had me down.**

**Mike, at least, was pleased by the obvious coolness between me and my lab partner. I could see he'd been worried that Edward's daring rescue might have impressed me, and he was relieved that it seemed to have the opposite effect. He grew more confident, sitting on the edge of my table to talk before Biology class started, ignoring Edward as completely as he ignored us.**

"I don't think you'll be liking…" Alice started in a teasing voice, but liking was too strong of a word. "Tolerating Mike much longer."

"What would I care if he likes the girl," Edward said off-handedly.

"We'll see how much you care," Alice said knowingly.

**The snow washed away for good after that one dangerously icy day. Mike was disappointed he'd never gotten to stage his snowball fight, but pleased that the beach trip would soon be possible. The rain continued heavily, though, and the weeks passed.**

**Jessica made me aware of another event looming on the horizon — she called the first Tuesday of March to ask my permission to invite Mike to the girls' choice spring dance in two weeks.**

"A dance," Emmett said laughing and everyone looked at him oddly, until the corner of Edward's mouth twitched trying to prevent himself from laughing too. "Just image Bella dancing," he added out loud for everyone's benefit.

**"Are you sure you don't mind… you weren't planning to ask him?" she persisted when I told her I didn't mind in the least.**

**"No, Jess, I'm not going," I assured her. Dancing was glaringly outside my range of abilities.**

"I knew it… too bad she's not going though," Emmett laughed and sighed at the same time.

**"It will be really fun." Her attempt to convince me was halfhearted. I suspected that Jessica enjoyed my inexplicable popularity more than my actual company.**

"That's probably true," Edward said, frowning.

**"You have fun with Mike," I encouraged.**

**The next day, I was surprised that Jessica wasn't her usual gushing self in Trig and Spanish. **

"Mike turned her down, hoping Bella would ask him," Emmett shook his head. "He'd be waiting a long time for that to happen even if she did like dancing… She is obsessed with Eddy here."

**She was silent as she walked by my side between classes, and I was afraid to ask her why. If Mike had turned her down, I was the last person she would want to tell.**

**My fears were strengthened during lunch when Jessica sat as far from Mike as possible, chatting animatedly with Eric. Mike was unusually quiet.**

**Mike was still quiet as he walked me to class, the uncomfortable look on his face a bad sign. But he didn't broach the subject until I was in my seat and he was perched on my desk. As always, I was electrically aware of Edward sitting close enough to touch, as distant as if he were merely an invention of my imagination.**

**"So," Mike said, looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."**

**"That's great." I made my voice bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."**

"Denied," Emmett laughed.

"Emmett, it's hard to ask someone out," Esme reprimanded. "You shouldn't laugh at him."

**"Well…" He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response.**

**"I told her I had to think about it."**

**"Why would you do that?" I let disapproval color my tone, though I was relieved he hadn't given her an absolute no.**

"Coward, stringing another girl along in case his first choice doesn't want him," Edward said, shaking his head.

"You're tolerance is waning," Alice smirked and Edward frowned.

**His face was bright red as he looked down again. Pity shook my resolve.**

**"I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me."**

**I paused for a moment, hating the wave of guilt that swept through me. But I saw, from the corner of my eye, Edward's head tilt reflexively in my direction.**

"Oow, that's got your interest," Emmett teased and Alice snickered.

**"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I said.**

**"Did you already ask someone?" Did Edward notice how Mike's eyes flickered in his direction?**

**"No," I assured him. "I'm not going to the dance at all."**

**"Why not?" Mike demanded.**

**I didn't want to get into the safety hazards that dancing presented, so I quickly made new plans.**

**"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," I explained. **

"That will be seen as a lie," Alice said.

"I don't think it's a lie," Edward said smiling. "I have a feeling she's now planning on going there that week."

**I needed to get out of town anyway — it was suddenly the perfect time to go.**

**"Can't you go some other weekend?"**

**"Sorry, no," I said. "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer — it's rude."**

**"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, and turned, dejected, to walk back to his seat. I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to push the guilt and sympathy out of my head. Mr. Banner began talking. I sighed and opened my eyes.**

**And Edward was staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even more distinct now in his black eyes.**

"I think you're jealous," Emmett laughed.

"And frustrated that you can't read her," Jasper added in a teasing voice.

"Dying to know the reason behind her rejection of your rival," Alice added.

"Shut up," Edward growled at his siblings.

**I stared back, surprised, expecting him to look quickly away. But instead he continued to gaze with probing intensity into my eyes. There was no question of me looking away.**

**My hands started to shake.**

**"Mr. Cullen?" the teacher called, seeking the answer to a question that I hadn't heard.**

**"The Krebs Cycle," Edward answered, seeming reluctant as he turned to look at Mr. Banner.**

**I looked down at my book as soon as his eyes released me, trying to find my place.**

**Cowardly as ever, I shifted my hair over my right shoulder to hide my face. I couldn't believe the rush of emotion pulsing through me — just because he'd happened to look at me for the first time in a half-dozen weeks. I couldn't allow him to have this level of influence over me. It was pathetic. More than pathetic, it was unhealthy.**

**I tried very hard not to be aware of him for the rest of the hour, and, since that was impossible, at least not to let him know that I was aware of him. **

"That's probably impossible too," Emmett said.

**When the bell rang at last, I turned my back to him to gather my things, expecting him to leave immediately as usual.**

**"Bella?" His voice shouldn't have been so familiar to me, as if I'd known the sound of it all my life rather than for just a few short weeks.**

"She really has it bad for you," Emmett laughed.

**I turned slowly, unwillingly. I didn't want to feel what I knew I would feel when I looked at his too-perfect face. My expression was wary when I finally turned to him; his expression was unreadable. He didn't say anything.**

**"What? Are you speaking to me again?" I finally asked, an unintentional note of petulance in my voice.**

"Good, don't let him knew how much you care," Alice said.

**His lips twitched, fighting a smile. "No, not really," he admitted.**

**I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly through my nose, aware that I was gritting my teeth. He waited.**

**"Then what do you want, Edward?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed; it was easier to talk to him coherently that way.**

**"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way, really."**

**I opened my eyes. His face was very serious.**

**"I don't know what you mean," I said, my voice guarded.**

**"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."**

**My eyes narrowed. I'd heard that before.**

"Bad choice of words," Alice said. "You haven't earned her trust yet."

"I don't want to earn her trust," Edward said stubbornly, frowning at the book like he's trying to will his future self just to stay way from her.

**"It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I hissed through my teeth. "You could have saved yourself all this regret."**

**"Regret?" The word, and my tone, obviously caught him off guard. "Regret for what?"**

**"For not just letting that stupid van squish me."**

**He was astonished. He stared at me in disbelief.**

**When he finally spoke, he almost sounded mad. "You think I regret saving your life?"**

**"I know you do," I snapped.**

**"You don't know anything." He was definitely mad.**

"How could she think that anyway?" Edward asked, frowning.

"Well, you did save her life and then completely ignored her for a month, not even looking in her direction," Alice said. "It's an almost logical conclusion."

**I turned my head sharply away from him, clenching my jaw against all the wild accusations I wanted to hurl at him. I gathered my books together, then stood and walked to the door. I meant to sweep dramatically out of the room, but of course I caught the toe of my boot on the door jamb and dropped my books. I stood there for a moment, thinking about leaving them. Then I sighed and bent to pick them up. He was there; he'd already stacked them into a pile. He handed them to me, his face hard.**

"Come on Eddy, you should be laughing, that had to be funny," Emmett said.

"Edward knows better than to laugh at a girl like that," Esme said, glaring at Emmett.

"I think I'm still mad about what she said," Edward shrugged.

**"Thank you," I said icily.**

**His eyes narrowed.**

**"You're welcome," he retorted.**

**I straightened up swiftly, turned away from him again, and stalked off to Gym without looking back.**

**Gym was brutal. We'd moved on to basketball. My team never passed me the ball, so that was good, but I fell down a lot. Sometimes I took people with me. **

Emmett, who was already laughing at Bella's Gym experience, burst out laughing at that.

**Today I was worse than usual because my head was so filled with Edward. I tried to concentrate on my feet, but he kept creeping back into my thoughts just when I really needed my balance.**

**It was a relief, as always, to leave. I almost ran to the truck; there were just so many people I wanted to avoid. The truck had suffered only minimal damage in the accident. I'd had to replace the taillights, and if I'd had a real paint job, I would have touched that up. Tyler 's parents had to sell their van for parts.**

**I almost had a stroke when I rounded the corner and saw a tall, dark figure leaning against the side of my truck. Then I realized it was just Eric. I started walking again.**

"Yeah, I can see where she can confuse you with Eric," Emmett said smirking, and then suddenly started beaming. "Oow, it looks like we get to hear someone else ask her out."

**"Hey, Eric," I called.**

**"Hi, Bella."**

**"What's up?" I said as I was unlocking the door. I wasn't paying attention to the uncomfortable edge in his voice, so his next words took me by surprise.**

**"Uh, I was just wondering… if you would go to the spring dance with me? " His voice broke on the last word.**

**"I thought it was girls' choice," I said, **

"Ouch," Emmett laughed.

**too startled to be diplomatic.**

**"Well, yeah," he admitted, shamefaced.**

**I recovered my composure and tried to make my smile warm. "Thank you for asking me, but I'm going to be in Seattle that day."**

**"Oh," he said. "Well, maybe next time."**

"I bet he already knew that," Edward said. "He's probably heard about her rejection of Mike and hoped that she was just letting him down easy."

**"Sure," I agreed, and then bit my lip. I wouldn't want him to take that too literally.**

**He slouched off, back toward the school. I heard a low chuckle.**

**Edward was walking past the front of my truck, looking straight forward, his lips pressed together. **

"Edward," Esme tried to sound admonishing, but she was too surprised by this behavior. All teasing aside, it really seemed that he did indeed like this girl.

**I yanked the door open and jumped inside, slamming it loudly behind me. I revved the engine deafeningly and reversed out into the aisle. Edward was in his car already, two spaces down, sliding out smoothly in front of me, cutting me off. He stopped there — to wait for his family;**

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked confused.

"I imagine there's someone else that wants to ask her out," Edward sighed, holding his head. "It's the only reason I can think of."

**I could see the four of them walking this way, but still by the cafeteria. I considered taking out the rear of his shiny Volvo,**

"Do it," Emmett laughed.

"No," Edward said, protective of his car.

**but there were too many witnesses. I looked in my rearview mirror. A line was beginning to form. Directly behind me, Tyler Crowley was in his recently acquired used Sentra, waving. I was too aggravated to acknowledge him.**

**While I was sitting there, looking everywhere but at the car in front of me, I heard a knock on my passenger side window. I looked over; it was Tyler. I glanced back in my rearview mirror, confused. His car was still running, the door left open. I leaned across the cab to crank the window down. It was stiff. I got it halfway down, then gave up.**

**"I'm sorry, Tyler, I'm stuck behind Cullen." I was annoyed — obviously the holdup wasn't my fault.**

**"Oh, I know — I just wanted to ask you something while we're trapped here." He grinned.**

**This could not be happening.**

"I can see why you want to watch this," Emmett said. "It's rather entertaining."

"Something tells me that Edward wants to hear this for another reason than entertainment," Alice smirked.

"I know," Emmett agreed immediately. "But that doesn't mean that he won't find it entertaining."

**"Will you ask me to the spring dance?" he continued.**

**"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler." My voice sounded a little sharp. I had to remember it wasn't his fault that Mike and Eric had already used up my quota of patience for the day.**

**"Yeah, Mike said that," he admitted.**

"You've got to admire his confidence," Emmett smirked.

"I don't think she does," Alice said.

**"Then why —"**

**He shrugged. "I was hoping you were just letting him down easy."**

**Okay, it was completely his fault.**

**"Sorry, Tyler," I said, working to hide my irritation. "I really am going out of town."**

**"That's cool. We still have prom."**

**And before I could respond, he was walking back to his car. I could feel the shock on my face. I looked forward to see Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper all sliding into the Volvo. In his rearview mirror, Edward's eyes were on me. He was unquestionably shaking with laughter, as if he'd heard every word Tyler had said.**

"Told you," Emmett said smugly.

**My foot itched toward the gas pedal… one little bump wouldn't hurt any of them, just that glossy silver paint job. I revved the engine.**

"Do it," Emmett said again.

**But they were all in, and Edward was speeding away. I drove home slowly, carefully, muttering to myself the whole way.**

**When I got home, I decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner. It was a long process, and it would keep me busy. While I was simmering the onions and chilies, the phone rang. I was almost afraid to answer it, but it might be Charlie or my mom. **

**It was Jessica, and she was jubilant; Mike had caught her after school to accept her invitation. I celebrated with her briefly while I stirred. She had to go, she wanted to call Angela and Lauren to tell them. I suggested — with casual innocence — that maybe Angela, the shy girl who had Biology with me, could ask Eric. And Lauren, a standoffish girl who had always ignored me at the lunch table, could ask Tyler; I'd heard he was still available. **

"Yes, pawn off those pesky admirers as fast as you can," Emmett said as Rosalie shook her head - it was clear that she would never see eye to eye with this girl.

**Jess thought that was a great idea. Now that she was sure of Mike, she actually sounded sincere when she said she wished I would go to the dance. I gave her my Seattle excuse.**

**After I hung up, I tried to concentrate on dinner — dicing the chicken especially; I didn't want to take another trip to the emergency room. But my head was spinning, trying to analyze every word Edward had spoken today. What did he mean, it was better if we weren't friends?**

"That being friends with a vampire is highly dangerous for you," Edward said.

"No, I think it means that he wishes that she were something more," Alice teased.

"That would be even worse for her," Edward growled.

**My stomach twisted as I realized what he must have meant. He must see how absorbed I was by him; he must not want to lead me on… so we couldn't even be friends… because he wasn't interested in me at all.**

**Of course he wasn't interested in me, I thought angrily, my eyes stinging — a delayed reaction to the onions. I wasn't interesting. And he was. Interesting… and brilliant… and mysterious… and perfect… and beautiful… and possibly able to lift full-sized vans with one hand.**

"She's gotten to know you pretty well," Esme said, smiling at her son.

"She doesn't seem to see herself though," Edward said.

"Yeah, she is very interesting," Emmett laughed. "Lifting a full-sized van."

**Well, that was fine. I could leave him alone. I would leave him alone. I would get through my self-imposed sentence here in purgatory, and then hopefully some school in the Southwest, or possibly Hawaii, would offer me a scholarship. I focused my thoughts on sunny beaches and palm trees as I finished the enchiladas and put them in the oven.**

**Charlie seemed suspicious when he came home and smelled the green peppers. I couldn't blame him — the closest edible Mexican food was probably in southern California. But he was a cop, even if just a small-town cop, so he was brave enough to take the first bite. He seemed to like it. It was fun to watch as he slowly began trusting me in the kitchen.**

**"Dad?" I asked when he was almost done.**

**"Yeah, Bella?"**

**"Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Seattle for the day a week from Saturday… if that's okay?" I didn't want to ask permission — it set a bad precedent — but I felt rude, so I tacked it on at the end.**

**"Why?" He sounded surprised, as if he were unable to imagine something that Forks couldn't offer.**

**"Well, I wanted to get few books — the library here is pretty limited — and maybe look at some clothes." I had more money than I was used to having, since, thanks to Charlie, I hadn't had to pay for a car. Not that the truck didn't cost me quite a bit in the gas department.**

**"That truck probably doesn't get very good gas mileage," he said, echoing my thoughts.**

"Maybe he's a mind reader too," Emmett said.

"Nah, it's just obvious that trunk would be bad for that," Edward smiled.

**"I know, I'll stop in Montesano and Olympia — and Tacoma if I have to."**

**"Are you going all by yourself?" he asked, and I couldn't tell if he was suspicious I had a secret boyfriend or just worried about car trouble.**

"Probably a little of both," Esme said.

**"Yes."**

**"Seattle is a big city — you could get lost," he fretted.**

**"Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle — and I can read a map, don't worry about it."**

**"Do you want me to come with you?"**

"That's nice of him to offer," Esme said.

"Are you kidding, there's no way Bella wants him there," Alice said horrified.

**I tried to be crafty as I hid my horror.**

**"That's all right, Dad, I'll probably just be in dressing rooms all day — very boring."**

**"Oh, okay." The thought of sitting in women's clothing stores for any period of time immediately put him off.**

"Tell me about it," Emmett muttered and Jasper snorted in agreement.

**"Thanks." I smiled at him.**

**"Will you be back in time for the dance?"**

**Grrr. Only in a town this small would a father know when the high school dances were.**

"Yup, there's no getting away from it," Emmett laughed.

**"No — I don't dance, Dad." He, of all people, should understand that — I didn't get my balance problems from my mother.**

**He did understand. "Oh, that's right," he realized.**

**The next morning, when I pulled into the parking lot, I deliberately parked as far as possible from the silver Volvo. I didn't want to put myself in the path of too much temptation and end up owing him a new car. **

"Don't worry about it, I'd get him another car just to see you smash his," Emmett laughed.

"What do you have against my Volvo?" Edward glared at him.

"Nothing really, but the image of the new girl crashing into it is amusing," Emmett laughed.

**Getting out of the cab, I fumbled with my key and it fell into a puddle at my feet. As I bent to get it, a white hand flashed out and grabbed it before I could. **

"I guess you're done avoiding her," Alice smiled.

**I jerked upright. Edward Cullen was right next to me, leaning casually against my truck.**

**"How do you do that?" I asked in amazed irritation.**

**"Do what?" He held my key out as he spoke. As I reached for it, he dropped it into my palm.**

**"Appear out of thin air."**

**"Bella, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant." His voice was quiet as usual — velvet, muted.**

"Edward," Esme chastised.

"I don't think I've met anyone more observant then her," Jasper said incredulously.

"I know," Edward said. "I can't explain that line."

**I scowled at his perfect face. His eyes were light again today, a deep, golden honey color. Then I had to look down, to reassemble my now-tangled thoughts.**

**"Why the traffic jam last night?" I demanded, still looking away. "I thought you were supposed to be pretending I don't exist, not irritating me to death."**

**"That was for Tyler 's sake, not mine. I had to give him his chance." He snickered.**

"You are such a jerk," Alice said.

**"You…" I gasped. I couldn't think of a bad enough word. It felt like the heat of my anger should physically burn him, but he only seemed more amused.**

**"And I'm not pretending you don't exist," he continued.**

**"So you are trying to irritate me to death? Since Tyler 's van didn't do the job?"**

"Aaw, that will just make you mad again," Alice sighed. "And you're starting to realize that you like her too."

**Anger flashed in his tawny eyes. His lips pressed into a hard line, all signs of humor gone.**

**"Bella, you are utterly absurd," he said, his low voice cold.**

**My palms tingled — I wanted so badly to hit something. I was surprised at myself. I was usually a nonviolent person. **

"Yeah, well Edward can bring that out in people," Rosalie said.

"I wouldn't call you an nonviolent person," Edward muttered in response.

**I turned my back and started to walk away.**

**"Wait," he called. I kept walking, sloshing angrily through the rain. But he was next to me, easily keeping pace.**

**"I'm sorry, that was rude," he said as we walked. I ignored him. "I'm not saying it isn't true," he continued, "but it was rude to say it, anyway."**

**"Why won't you leave me alone?" I grumbled.**

"Oh, she doesn't really mean that," Emmett said.

**"I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," he chuckled. He seemed to have recovered his good humor.**

**"Do you have a multiple personality disorder?" I asked severely.**

"Your emotions do seem to be all over the place," Carlisle said smiling at his son.

"Yeah, you're hardly recognizable as the Edward we all know and lo… tolerate," Emmett laughed.

**"You're doing it again."**

**I sighed." Fine then. What do you want to ask?"**

**"I was wondering if, a week from Saturday — you know, the day of the spring dance —"**

"You're asking her to the dance?" Emmett said incredulously.

"Why are you so shocked, he obviously likes her?" Jasper said.

"I really do, don't I?" Edward sighed in resignation.

"But I doubt you'll asked her to the dance," Alice said. "You're too smart for that."

**"Are you trying to be funny?" I interrupted him, wheeling toward him. My face got drenched as I looked up at his expression.**

**His eyes were wickedly amused. "Will you please allow me to finish?"**

**I bit my lip and clasped my hands together, interlocking my fingers, so I couldn't do anything rash.**

**"I heard you say you were going to Seattle that day, and I was wondering if you wanted a ride."**

"Oh no," Edward face fell. "I can't be alone with her."

"Don't Edward, I'm sure you'll be a gentlemen," Esme smiled.

"But…" Edward protested.

"I'm sure you won't bite her," Alice said trying to tease, but it was too serious of a subject. "Don't worry Edward."

**That was unexpected.**

**"What?" I wasn't sure what he was getting at.**

**"Do you want a ride to Seattle?"**

**"With who?" I asked, mystified.**

**"Myself, obviously." He enunciated every syllable, as if he were talking to someone mentally handicapped.**

"No, he just likes to enunciate properly," Emmett said.

**I was still stunned. "Why?"**

**"Well, I was planning to go to Seattle in the next few weeks, and, to be honest, I'm not sure if your truck can make it."**

"More like, 'I'm dying to be near you and I thought this was the best way to do it,'" Alice said, imitating Edward's voice perfectly.

**"My truck works just fine, thank you very much for your concern." I started to walk again, but I was too surprised to maintain the same level of anger.**

**"But can your truck make it there on one tank of gas?" He matched my pace again.**

**"I don't see how that is any of your business." Stupid, shiny Volvo owner.**

"I wonder what she would say if she found out that the Volvo is your tame car," Emmett chuckled.

**"The wasting of finite resources is everyone's business."**

**"Honestly, Edward." I felt a thrill go through me as I said his name, and I hated it. "I can't keep up with you. I thought you didn't want to be my friend."**

**"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."**

**"Oh, thanks, now that's all cleared up. "Heavy sarcasm. **

"You are being rather confusing dear," Esme said. "It's no wonder that she can't understand you at all."

**I realized I had stopped walking again. We were under the shelter of the cafeteria roof now, so I could more easily look at is face. Which certainly didn't help my clarity of thought.**

**"It would be more…prudent for you not to be my friend," he explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."**

**His eyes were gloriously intense as he uttered that last sentence, his voice smoldering. I couldn't remember how to breathe.**

**"Will you go with me to Seattle?" he asked, still intense.**

**I couldn't speak yet, so I just nodded.**

**He smiled briefly, and then his face became serious.**

**"You really should stay away from me," he warned. "I'll see you in class."**

"No, not confusing at all," Alice said, shaking her head.

**He turned abruptly and walked back the way we'd come.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Esme said.

"It appears that I've completely fallen for her," Edward said, lowering his head.

"I can't wait till she gets here," Esme said excitedly, it wasn't a secret that she wanted Edward to find someone and that she was worried by the fact that he hadn't yet.

"Mom- I…" Edward tried to say, looking uncomfortable. "I don't think it's a good thing…"

"Nonsense Edward," Esme said. "Falling in love is the best - and you deserve that."

"But…" Edward tried to protest again, but was interrupted.

"Just get over it Eddie, you love her," Emmett said.

"I'll think about it, and don't call me Eddie," Edward said.

Rosalie just looked away from very one.

"Who wants to read next?" Alice asked.

"I will, please," Jasper replied.

Alice handed him the book and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. Jasper opened the book to the next chapter.

"The next Chapter is **'Blood Type'**" Jasper read.

**A/N Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will try and post the next chapter as soon as possible. Please Read and Review. Thanks : )**


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